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BULLETIN OF THE 

u. 

No. 27 

Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry, Carl L. Alsberg, Chief 
November 5. 1913. 




BOUILLON CUBES: THEIR CONTENTS AND FOOD VALUE COM- 
PARED WITH MEAT EXTRACTS AND HOME-MADE PREPA- 
RATIONS OF MEAT. 

P.y F. C. Cook, 

rjii/siolof/ictil Clicniist, AiiiiiKil I'lnisiahiiiicul ('liciiiistry lAihoniUiry. 

INTRODUCTION. 

As the true dietary value of commercial meat preparations, espe- 
cially bouillon cubes, fluid and semisolid meat extracts, commercially 
bottled meat juices, and similar preparations offered for sale, is not 
generally understood by the people, and as these articles are errone- 
ously believed to be convenient forms of concentrated meat, the 
Bureau of Chemistry has undertaken to determine their actual food 
value. Complete analyses have been made of ten of the leading 
brands of bouillon cubes manufactured in the United States and 
Germany, and collected on the New York market in 1912. One 
pm-pose of this investigation was to determine wdiether the term 
"■ bouillon," which is defined as a broth prepared from meat, may 
justly be used for many of these cubes which, while not nutritious, 
have a certain value as a flavoring medium and as a stimulating and 
appetizing drink. 

Bouillon cubes as sold by most grocers are wrapped in tin foil, 
l)arafRn paper, or both. They will keep indefinitely, although cer- 
tain makes are likely to lose their form during warm weather. 

COMMERCIAL BOUILLON CUBES. 

The i-esults of the analyses of these cubes are expressed in the 
accompanying tables and diagrams in common terms, as salt, water, 
fat, plant extract, and meat extract. It will be observed that com- 
mon salt is the greatest constituent, being from 49 to 72 per cent of 
the total weight of the cubes. The amount of meat extract present 
ranges from 8 per cent in the poorest brands to but 28 per cent in 
the best brands. The third important ingredient is plant or vege- 
table extract which constitutes from 3 to 30 per cent. This plant 
extract is useful because of its flavoring properties but has but slight, 
if any, nutritive value. The amount of meat stock or meat extract 
02is° i:; 1 



r n 




SALT 62% 

MEAT EXTRACT 2d % 
PLANT EXTRACT ^.rsyo 



Fig. 1. — Best grade bouillon cube (2r) cents a flozcii.i. 



2 BULLETIN 27, U. S. DEPARTMEXT OF AGRICULTUEE. 

in the poorer cubes is small and the amount of salt and plant extract 
large. 

Table I makes it very clear that none of these cubes is a concen- 
trated beef juice or essence. The dietary value, as is apparent from 

the table and from 
-f^TA }A/ATER S.2S% jhg tignres, 1, 2, and 9 

y^. 6). lies largely in 
the fact that they act 
as a stimulant. As 
they also contain a 
small amount of pro- 
tein (muscle-building 
substances) in the 
meat extract, they 
may be said to possess slight nutritive value. Most of these cubes 
have no advertised claim to be concentrated beef broth or essence. 
Many people, however, believe them to be highly concentrated meat 
and therefore to 

possess a high nutri- ^ z^-tat^ water S.so"/. 

live value, especially 
for invalids, but this 
is not true. 

As the meat ex- 
tract is the element 
which provides any 
nutritive value these 
cubes possess, it is 

apparent that the cubes numbered 1 to 5 have slightly greater nutri- 
tive value than the cubes numbered 6 to 10, the latter being made 
largely from plant extract, salt, and flavoring substances. 

Table I. — The composition of commercial bouillon cubes. 




-SALT 72% 

MEAT extract 8./e§''/(> 
-PLANT EXTRACT /LSS^^ 



Fig. 2. — I'oorfst grade bouillon lube (If) cents a d(»z<'ii). 



Cube 
No.i 



10 



Source of manufacture. 



United Stales . . 

Germany 

United States.. 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Gennanv 

United States.. 
do 



Salt. 



Per cent. 
62 
65 
65 
67.5 
59.2 
49.25 
53 
72 

72.5 
72 



Water 
and fat. 



Per cent. 
5.25 
9 



5.75 

4.1 

5.5 

8.5 

8.5 



-Approxi- 
mate 
amount 
of meat 
extract 
present. 



Approxi- 
mate 
amount 
of plant 
extract 
present. 



Per cent. 
28 
23 
18 
17.8 
17.8 
15.33 
14.6 
14 

8.33 
8.17 



Per cent. 

4.75 

3 

9 

9.7 
16 

29.66 
28.3 

8.5 
10.92 
11.33 



1 Cubes arranged in table in order of content of meat extract. 



0. or 0. 



13 i^J8 




Fig. 



{fat 0.9^ 'Vo 
\y\/ATER 2/./^ % 

SALT 3.// ya 

-MEAT EXTRACT S6.&S% 



-Best ;;ra(3e KCinisolid meat extract (45 cents 
for 2 ounces.) 



6o (y 
Qj TbOUILLON cubes : THEIR CONTENTS AND FOOD VALUE. 3 

COMPARISON OF NUTRITIVE VALUE AND COST OF BOUILLON CUBES 
WITH SEMISOLID MEAT EXTRACT, FLUID MEAT EXTRACT, AND 
COMMERCIAL MEAT JUICE. 

SEMISOLID MEAT EXTRACT. 

The ordinary meat extracts sold on the market in, jary contain 
from i5 to 65 per cent of meat extract, 15 to 25 per cent of water, 
5 to 20 per cent of salt, and 10 to 20 per cent of ash other than salt. 
The best meat ex- 
tracts , therefore, 
contain more than 
twice as much meat 
extract as the best of 
the bouillon cubes, 
and one - tenth as 
much of the table 
salt. Bouillon cubes 
are commonl}^ made 
from semisolid meat 
extracts b}^ the addition of varying amounts of plant extracts, 
salt, and flavoring matter. 

The cost of semisolid meat extracts at retail is 45 cents for 2 
ounces or more. The bouillon cubes on the market are sold at 
from 1 to 2 cents each and it takes from 15 to 20 cubes to weigh 2 
ounces. This would make the cost of 2 ounces of bouillon cubes 25 
to 40 cents. It is, therefore, apparent that the cubes which contain 
about two-thirds salt and never more than 28 per cent meat extract, 

are an expensive form 
of securing meat ex- 
tract. The 45 cents, 
if spent for semisolid 
meat extracts, will 
purchase two to three 
times the amount of 
meat extract that 
it is possible to ob- 
tain for the same 
money in the form 
of bouillon cubes. Those wishing to make bouillon from the 
semisolid meat extract can do so at practically no additional 
cost by adding salt to the extract and water to suit their own 
taste, making a bouillon of greater value at a much smaller cost, 
which differs from the commercial bouillon prepared from cubes 
only in that it does not contain plant extract and does not 
have the special flavor characteristic of the cube. Bouillon pre- 
pared in this way possesses stimulating value equal to or gi-eater 




Vu:. 4. 



-SALT/a32 yo 

-AS// OT//E/? T//AA/SALT /2.60% 

MEA TEXTT?AC7-^e.€9% 



-Poorest fjrade semisolid meat extract (Ti:'. cents 
for 4 ounces. I 



BULLETIN 27, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE, 



WjTiT-f 



than tliat prepared from the more exi:)ensive commercial cubes. As 
a flavoring agent the semisolid meat extracts are added to gravy and 
soup and are better than bouillon cubes because the soup, when pre- 
pared from vegetables, already contains the flavoring derived from 
the vegetables. 

FLUID MEAT EXTRACT. 

Fluid extracts of meat are a more expensive product than the 
semisolid meat extracts. Commercial fluid-meat extract consists of 
at least one-half water and is sold at about the same price, volume 
for volume, as the semisolid meat extract wliich contains not more 
than 25 per cent of water. 

COMMERCIAL MEAT JUICES AND OTHER LIQUID MEAT PREPARATIONS. 

Commercial meat juices and other liquid meat preparations are 
also expensive dietary products when the amounts of food 

actually present in 
them are consid- 
ered. One reason 
for this is that in 
making these com- 
mercial juices the 
coagulable protein, 
oi' nuiscle - building 
foot] elements, 
which are pressed 
out of meat and are 
present in freshly 
made meat juice, are 
partly or entirely 
removed by the manufacturer in order to make a product which 
will keep. Therefore, the most valuable food elements of the meat 

juice usually do not 

reach the consumer. V>»-W 

These commercial 
meat- juice prepara- 
tions cost from 50 
to 75 cents for 2 
ounces of liquid, 
which makes them 
much more expen- 
sive than the semi- 
solid meat extracts. 
These commercially 
prepared meat 
juices are fre- 
quently fluid extracts of meat — tiiat i>, dilute solutions of the semi- 
solid meat extracts. 




\wATf:R ^7^.94 °/o 

SALT 7.02% 

ASHOT/^£/? T/YAA/ SALT a^ayo 

MEAT £:XTf?ACT 3^.//% 



Best grade iluid meat extract C 
ounces) . 



cents for 




Poorest 



FAT O.OS'y.^ 
IVATER E7.75yo 



SALT 3.27 °/o 

AS//077y£r/? T/M/VSALT&.96'y<:^ 

/^EAT EXTRACT 2-^.93 % 



a'ade fluid meat extract (4ti <-enls 
for 3i evinces). 



BOUILLON CUBES : THEIE CONTENTS AND FOOD VALUE. 



COMPARISON OF THE FOOD VALUE AND COST OF A HOMEMADE 
BEEF BROTH AND A HOMEMADE MEAT AND VEGETABLE SOUP WITH 
BOUILLON CUBES, SEMISOLID MEAT EXTRACTS, AND SIMILAR 
PREPARATIONS. 

To determine how the cost of meat extract obtained in bouillon 
cubes, semisolid meat extracts, and other meat preparations compares 
with homemade beef broth, and meat and vegetable soup, the in- 
vestigator prepared 
two kinds of home- 
made soup, keeping 
careful account of the 
actual cost. 



BEEF BROTH. 







U/\/D£'T£-/t'Af/A/SO O.S7'i/t> 

SALT /.07'y<:> 
''M£A T6t M£>^T£?a79/KrrA/£;S/.S/ % 

Fig. 7. — Cup of homemade beef broth ready to serve : 
prepared especially for children and invalids ; more 
nutritious than the commercial .preparations (4 J 
cents a cup). 



T w o half - pound 
portions of ground 
beef Avere bought for 
13 cents each, or at the 
rate of 25 cents per 
pound, a high price for this meat. One pint of cold water was 
added to each lot. The mixtures were stirred and allowed to stand 
in the cold for 15 minutes. They were then placed on the stove and 
brought to a boil. A pinch of salt was added. The broth, which 
contained some of the smaller particles of the meat, amounted to 1 
pint or 3 cups. Tlie price, therefore, using expensive meat of this 
kind, would be about 4^. cents per cup. This cost, of course, could be 

greatly reduced by 
purchasing the meat 
at a lower - priced 
market, or using a 
less expensive cut. 
Analyses of the broth 
are given in Table II. 
In Table III it is 
seen that the amount 
of meat and extrac- 
tives thus obtained, one-sixth of an ounce, for 10 cents, was as 
cheap as the meat extract in many of the commercial preparations. 
In addition, this broth contained all the fat of the meat which is 
a valuable food and which is eliminated from ordinar\^ commercial 
meat extracts. The meat, after the soup is made, is available for the 
l>reparation of hash or other food and thus still further reduces the 
actual cost of the meat broth. 




[rAT 3.27"/^ 



SALT/.04^ 

/^£Ar6hy^£'AT£:X7-/x'AC77\/£:S /.02')ii> 

Fig. 8. — Cup of homemade ment and vegetable soup ready 
to servo ; a cheap and nutritious food (IJ cents a cup). 



6 BULLETIN 27, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

Table II. — .l»(//y/.sr.v of homemade meat [jreiHirutions. 



Sam- 
ple 
No. 


Suljstancc. 


Water. 


Fat. 


Ash. 


Salt. 


Meat 
and meat 
extrac- 
tives. 


Vegetables 
and vege- 
table ex- 
tractives. 


Undetor- 

mined 

material. 


1 


Beef broth 


Per 

cent. 

95.44 

94.26 

88.41 

88.22 


Per 

cent. 
1.72 
2.49 
3.27 
5.12 


Per 

cent. 
1.45 
1.33 
1.47 
1.55 


Per 

cent. 
1.07 
.93 
1.04 
1.16 


Per cent. 

1.21 

1.63 

1.02 

.94 


Per cent. 


Per cent. 
CIS 


2 


do 




.29 
'5.04 
'3.3& 


3 

4 


Meat and vegetable soup 

do 


0.79 
.79 







1 Largely cellulose or vegetable filter. 



MEAT AND VEGETABLE SOUP. 



Meat and vegetable soups were prepared in the laboratory accord- 
ing to the following recipe and cost schedule: A soup bone weighing 
24 ounces, one-third of which was meat, was purchased for 10 cents. 

After being washed it 
was placed in a large 
kettle with -j pints of 
cold water and was 
heated for three 
hours, when the bone 
and meat were re- 
moved. One - fourth 
of a small head of 
cabbage. 1 onion, 1 
carrot, a large potato, 
and 2 small tomatoes. 




[/y^T- Trcfce 

\ WATER 97.7SVo 



'SALT /.'^Vo 
~PLAA/r EXTRACT O. /4? % 
^MEAT EXTRACT O.COyo 

Fig. 9. — Cup of bouillon prepared by dissolving 1 cube in 
a cup of water ; largely water and salt but has flavoring 
and stimulating value (i to 2 cents a cup). 



all costing about 5 cents, Avere chopped and added to the soup. The 
mixture was boiled for one hour, thickened slightly with a little flour, 
and seasoned with salt and pepper. This furnished enough soup for 
a family of five at a 
cost of approximately 
IG cents, not counting 
fuel. This homemade 
SOU}), in addition to 
containing meat ex- 
tractives, contained 
gelatin from the bone 
and some of the food 
elements in the vege- 
tables. It also con- 
tained a large proportion of the fat of the meat and bone. Table II, 
which shows the ('omi)osition of homemade meat broths and meat and 
r-egetable soups when ready to serve, can not, of course, be compared 
directly with Table I, which shows the composition of commercial 
bouillon cubes before they are diluted with water for serving. 




[fat- Trace 
\y\/ATER 99.'^'^ % 

-SALT & ASH 0./2'}4> 
MEAT EXTRACT O. '^^''/l. 



I'lii. 10.— Cup of bouillon prepared by dissolving one- 
fourth to one-eighth of a teaspoonful (1.0 gram) of 
semisolid meat extract in a cup of water; largely water 
but has flavoring and stimulating value (1 cent a cup). 



BOUILLON CUBES: TllEIK CONTENTS AND FOOD VALUE. 7 

The relative cost of the (oniineiTuil tuul homemade }>i-eparnti<)ii< (tf 
meat is shown in the followinji" tal)le : 

Tai!i,k in. — RcJttiirr cost of coiinncrcinl (tiid IioiiuiihkIc iiicat iirciKinttionx. 



.Sam- 
ple 
No. 



Substance. 



Best grade botiillou cubes 

Poorest grade l)ouillon cubes 

Best grade semisolid meat extract 

Poorest grade .semisolid meat extract.. 

Best grade fluid meat extract 

Poorest grade fluid meat extract 

Commercial meat juice 

do 

Homemade beef broth i 

Homemade meat and vegetable soup '. 



Ounrc. 
1 
1 
1 
I 
1 
1 
1 
1 

2 1 
■i 1 



CosI . 



Cents. 
20 
10 
23 
13 
IS 

11. .5 
25 
35 

4.0 

1 



Amount 

of meat 

extract ol>- 

tained for 

10 cents. 



Ounc(. 



1 These two preparations are diluted and ready to serve. 'I'lie others are all to be diluted with water 
before .serving 

2 Cups. 

SUMMARY. 

One-half to three- fourths of bouillon cubes is table salt. The cubes 
ure not concentrated beef or meat essence, as many people believe. 
They are valuable stimulants or flavoring agents, but have little or 
no real food value. Bouillon cubes, therefore, are relatively ex- 
pensive. 

Semisolid meat extracts sold in jars are not concentrated beef. 
They are stimulants and flavoring adjuncts and have only a slight 
food value, owing to a small amount of protein (muscle-building 
food) which they contain. They are more expensive than homemade 
soups. 

Fluid meat extracts are dilute solutions of semisolid meat extracts. 
They are sold in bottles and are flavored. They are more expensive 
than the semisolid meat extracts because they contain more water. 

Commercial meat juices are largely deprived of their most valuable 
food constituent — the coagulable protein, or muscle-building food. 
They are similar to fluid meat extracts, and some makes cost more. 

Homemade meat broth is more nutritious and provides more meat 
extractives, protein, and fat at less expense than the commercial 
preparations. 

Homemade meat and vegetable soup contains much more food and 
is therefore much cheaper than the bouillons or soups prepared from 
><'ommercial cubes, extracts, or juices. 



ADDITIONAL COPIES of this publication 
-ti- may be procured from the Superintend- 
ent OF Documents, Government Printim: 
Office, Washington, D. C. , at 6 cents per copy 



WASHI.NCTO.V : tJOVF.UNMKNT I'UIXTI.NC OKKICK : 1913 



viaviora iiros. 



Syracuse, N. Y 
PAT, m. 21, 1908 



•^ 



